The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a warning system for power excursions in an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As IHS performance continues to increase, processor manufacturers are pushing processors to higher power limits. For example, Intel® provides processor features such as “Turbo Boost” that allow the processor to operate at higher than the rated frequency (a.k.a., “over clock”) as long as power and thermal envelopes are maintained. In some cases, power envelopes have been redefined to allow for excursions above the traditional Thermal Design Power (TDP) of the processor. For example, Intel® has defined a dynamic power (Pdyn) that allows the processor to draw power that is up to 120% of TDP for a period of seconds. In processors with multiple cores, processors that transition between low and high power instructions, and processors implementing other processor features known in the art, excursions above Pdyn may occur up to maximum power (Pmax).
The magnitude and the duration of power excursions by processors above Pdyn are becoming significant enough to reach the Power Supply Unit (PSU), as Pmax for processors is expected to approach and possibly even exceed twice the TDP of the processor, with power excursions up to Pmax having durations of milliseconds. Conventionally, the power system provided for IHSs including such processors must then be budgeted for Pmax in order to ensure that the PSU load does not exceed the PSU capacity, as exceeding PSU capacity can result in PSU shutdown and the accompanying possibility of IHS data loss. The need to budget for Pmax to accommodate these power excursions results in larger and costlier PSUs, which are sometimes not an option in dense IHS designs or IHSs that require redundant PSUs.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved power system for an IHS.